On the surface, Elecrow’s CrowView Note looks like a 14-inch laptop. But inside, it is a shell that allows you to bring your own processor. You can use it for a wide range of tasks, including increasing productivity on your mobile device or turning your Raspberry Pi into a full-blown computer.
At $169, you get a 14-inch IPS display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, a 5000mAh battery, a keyboard and trackpad, onboard speakers, and a wide range of ports, including USB-C, USB-3, Mini-HDMI, and a headphone jack.
The body is made of sturdy plastic and is durable. The keyboard and trackpad are decent and very usable. The speakers are not top-notch but are nonetheless good for general purposes. And the Note weighs only 2.53 lbs (1.14 kg). The display is sharp and clear and useful for most jobs.
CrowView Note is not useful alone and it needs a “brain.” You can connect it to a wide range of devices, including Android phones and tablets, PCs, Macs, gaming consoles, and single-board computers such as Raspberry Pi and Nvidia Jetson Nano.
Depending on the computing device, connecting it to the CrowView Note will be different. For example, to connect a PC, you will need to use the Mini HDMI port. For Samsung phones, we used the DeX app and used a USB connection. This is especially useful if you’re stuck without access to your laptop and want to do a lot of email and document work without having to tap on a small screen for hours. And in case you don’t have access to a phone charger, you can use CrowView Note’s battery as a power bank to charge your phone.
For SBCs such as the Raspberry Pi, you’ll need a special adapter that is sold separately at $10 and connects the computer to the Note. CrowView Note is especially useful for Raspberry Pi projects, where you want to deploy an application on your SBC and install it at a location. You can easily plug it into your Note, set up the software and then deploy it. If you have bunch of headless devices deployed at your factory or facility, you can easily connect them to your note if you want to directly diagnose them or check them.
At $169, CrowView Note is a bargain for DIY hackers and developers who are into creating IoT applications on SBCs. For a limited time, you can get the Note at $129 if you join the crowdfunding campaign.
